Full Participation
by 3iris
Summary: Here is the sequel to "Participation Is Optional". It is my spin on the morning after. Probably not what everyone is expecting after the subject matter of "Participation Is Optional", but I like it. Not really "M", but the next & last chapter might be.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Here is the much requested sequel to Participation Is Optional. I do not foresee any need for a stern warning about smut, because that's not where I am planning on taking this one. I am keeping the rating at an M, because it is linked to Participation Is Optional, which is very M. Besides, I never know when my imagination is going to wander in that direction. :D**

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Temperance Brennan rolled over in bed and buried her face in the pillow, listing off in her head the reasons last night never should have happened. Her list started with the cause behind the incessant pounding in her head, and ended with the reason she heard the door being pulled shut carefully and dead-bolted from outside by Seeley Booth.

She rolled to her side, curled up in the fetal position, and pulled the covers over her head. She tried forcing thoughts of the previous night out of her head. The part of her that, last night, told her the risk was worth taking, had quieted down substantially this morning. The voice inside her head, that was whispering to her that she shouldn't analyze what was happening, that she should just soak up the way he was watching her, and the way he was responding. That little voice was now betraying her, and screaming at her that she screwed up.

The alcohol may have helped loosen her inhibitions a bit, but she knew that it wasn't the margaritas that gave her the inspiration for her little one man show. It was him. She told herself that she should have known better. It was one thing to let herself get carried away by their bodies physiological responses. It was another to believe that it meant anything in any other context. She did blame the margaritas for that. Actually, the blame was most probably linked with the straight tequila shots. She suddenly had a brief flashback of licking salt off his hand, and sucking on a piece of lime that he was holding between his teeth. Margaritas never got her into this much trouble.

She buried her face deeper into the pillow with each memory that surfaced. She wondered in amazement what could have possibly made her think that they would be able to continue their relationship with this between them. Her first thought was that maybe their current relationship was not what they wanted anymore, then she remembered the situation. He left, without so much as a word.

She felt tears flood her eyes with that thought. She hoped at the very least they would have laughed about it, and at the most? She didn't know. She wanted more of him, of that much she was certain. She wanted to feel his lips on hers again. She wanted to undress him, and feel his skin beneath her fingers. She wanted his body pressed to hers, and for him to touch her the way she showed him last night. She wondered if she really could have read the situation that wrong, and then remembered that if he wanted those things, with her, he would still be here. He wouldn't have let himself out out the front door.

She let herself toss and turn in her bed for several more minutes. Knowing that it wasn't helping, only making her feel worse, she dragged her heavy limbs out of bed, and stumbled toward the bathroom. She washed her face, brushed her teeth, and threw her hair into a ponytail. She shoved her arms into her robe, and trudged to the kitchen to find something to make the pounding in her head stop.

She almost made it to the kitchen, and was leaning against the wall in the hallway with her eyes closed, cursing tequila and lime and salt and karaoke bars and cabs without air conditioning, when she thought she heard keys jingling near the living room. She didn't bother opening her eyes, attributing the noise to the same force that was making the room appear to spin as she concentrated on warding off a particularly strong wave of nausea.

Booth made his way across the living room, and stood in front of her, waiting for her to open her eyes. "Good morning... ouch, you don't look good." He handed her a single red rose. "I would have been back sooner, but I had an argument with myself at the flower stand." She looked at him blankly, and only blinked. "Should I buy you flowers today, or should I wait until tomorrow morning, since we haven't really... or would it be too presumptuous to assume that tonight is a sure thing?"

She still didn't respond, so he continued. "I went out for coffee and Tylenol, extra strength." He waggled them in front of her face enticingly.

"I have coffee, Booth, and pain relievers."

"You must feel as crappy as I do, Bones. You didn't call them acetaminophen or whatever the even more chemically correct name is." He handed her a cup of coffee, and took her other hand in his, shaking two Extra Strength Tylenol into it. "I didn't want to wake you, and I couldn't find the coffee maker, and it hurt my head to bend over and look in the lower cabinets."

She pulled her hand out of his quickly, spilling the capsules to the floor. Looking for an excuse to escape his scrutinizing glare, she bent down and collected the pills from the floor, turning to dispose of them in the kitchen. He followed her, and watched as she threw them down the disposal, retrieved more from her pantry, and downed them with a glass of water. It did not go unnoticed that she still hadn't said barely a word to him, and she was doing her best to avoid looking him in the eyes.

He couldn't understand why she was so down. The adrenaline he had pumping through his system made him forget about his own headache. After last night, he finally felt like he had a grip on what he wanted them to be. It was no longer something intangible that he only wondered about in an abstract way, never really sure if it was possible. It was within his reach, and he wasn't going to back down, or let go. "This doesn't have to be weird."

"Yes, it does, Booth. It is."

"But it doesn't have to be weird in a bad way. We had a fun evening. We don't do that enough. And last night,..." He couldn't suppress his ear to ear grin. He tipped her chin up so he could finally see her eyes and get a hint of what she was thinking. "...we should have definitely done that a long time ago. I'm not sure why we haven't addressed it before. It was bound to happen eventually."

"There is only one kind of weird, Booth, and I really don't want to talk about it now. I have a headache." She backed away from his touch, and turned to walk back to her bedroom.

He put his hands on her shoulders to stop her. "You didn't think I was coming back." She didn't say anything, or turn to face him, and he knew he was right. "That is what this is about, not your headache, or what we did or didn't do last night."

"This has everything to do with last night." Her voice was barely a whisper. "When I woke up and heard you leaving, I knew I had taken it too far. I was so embarrassed."

Booth turned her around to face him. "I am still here. I don't scare easily. You are going to have to do a lot better than last night to get rid of me."

"I actually remember a surprising amount of what happened, and I remember you telling me over and over that you didn't think it was a good idea."

"I still stand by that. Last night was not the right time for what I have planned." He slid his hands down her arms. "Until last night, I thought I would be happy to just have a chance to see how the real thing matched up to my expectations, and consequences be damned."

"But?"

"But I want more than that, and we are complicated, and I think we need to uncomplicate things before we complicate them even more."

She managed to return a weak smile. "I think my headache is coming back."

He pulled her closer, and kissed her on the forehead. "I'm going to go home and shower. Get some rest, and come over whenever you are feeling human again."

**A/N: Come on! Did anyone really think he wasn't coming back? Please. **

**Oh, I almost forgot, TO BE CONTINUED!**


	2. Chapter 2

"Bones, you showed up." He motioned for her to follow him back to the kitchen, where he was cooking grilled cheese sandwiches. He had is sleeves rolled up past his elbows, and a dish towel hanging out of the back pocket of his jeans.

"You are surprised. Were you testing me?" She leaned against the counter, far enough to be out of his way, but close enough to prove she was not going to back down.

"Let's call it a challenge." He buttered two more slices of bread, and offered her a piece of the cheese that he was nibbling on.

"You should know I never pass up a challenge."

"I'll have to remember that." He looked at her the way she remembered from the previous evening. The look that created butterflies in the pit of her stomach, and sent a shiver down her spine. The one that made it hard to look away, and forced her sober mind to have to keep reminding her to take it slow.

"I do, however, concede that it was a difficult challenge. You could have made it easier by asking me to bring over a file you need, or Thai food."

"False pretenses..."

"I prefer false pretenses over having to present myself at your door for a night of sexual gratification."

He choked on the piece of cheese he was eating. "Wait a minute. That is not why you are here, OK? It's just me, and grilled cheese. What's so difficult about that?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

She couldn't help but laugh at him. "A lot of things were implied about this evening, but I am pretty sure grilled cheese was not one of them."

He lowered his voice and leaned in close, as he slid two perfectly cooked sandwiches onto a plate. "A man can't reveal all his secrets at one time." He looked down at the sandwiches, and then back into her eyes. "Help yourself."

He was giving her that look again, creating a warmth that started on the inside and radiated out. She reached out with her fingertips, and touched the muscle at his jaw that became prominent when he was having an emotional reaction to something. She noticed it often when he became angry while questioning a suspect, or when he was overtired from working long hours on a case. Sometimes it was directed at her, when she said something careless, or when she was did something that put herself in danger. She felt the muscle under her fingertips as he gazed intently at her. She flattened her hand against his jaw, feeling his smooth, newly shaved skin. She leaned forward and placed a kiss softly against his lips, feeling his slight intake of breath as she did.

He opened his eyes slowly, the feel of her breath so close to his face making it difficult for him to concentrate. He ran the back of his fingers down her bare arm, leaving a trail of chill bumps in it's trail. "Is it possible to miss something you have never had?"

"By definition, you would have had to have possession of said thing to feel a loss..." Her voice was barely a whisper.

He went on, ignoring the explanation he asked for but really didn't care about. "Because I have missed this. Even when I was with you, especially when I was with you, I still missed this." He picked up one of her hands and brought it to his mouth, kissing each of her knuckles, and rubbing his lips across the back of her hand. "When I was here alone, or when I was out with someone, I knew what I was missing the whole time. I missed the silly, goofy you that shows up sometimes when we are together and always makes me smile. I missed the way one of your simple touches can set me on fire and send my pulse racing. I missed feeling you pressed against me, skin to bare skin. I missed making love to you. You were always just out of reach, and that made me miss you even more."

Brennan felt the tears filling her eyes. She tried to look away, but she was immobilized. Hearing his words, and feeling the friction of his thumb rubbing circles on her palm, touched something inside of her. She understood the meaning behind behind his words, and knew how hard they were for him to say, because they mirrored her feelings. "You want something. You want a promise, a commitment. You want that more than you want something physical." She finally looked down, away from his eyes, to a spot on his shirt. "That's why you backed off last night."

"I just thought you should know how I feel. That's all."

"Funny, I was just thinking the same thing." She lifted her chin and faced him again, resting her hands flat against the hard surface of his chest, feeling the expanse of toned muscle under her fingers.

"Very nice play off my words, Bones. I must be rubbing off on you."

"If this is your idea of talking dirty, it needs some work." She slipped a hand between the buttons of his shirt, and let it rest on the soft skin covering the solid muscular expanse of his chest.

"I don't know what you are talking about, Bones. I'm just working in my kitchen, trying to make us some grilled cheese sandwiches." His hands found the narrowest part of her waist, and holding on to her, backed her away from the kitchen. "We could always save them for later though." He stopped when her back was pressed solidly against the wall, and his front was pressed firmly against hers. He simply touched his forehead to hers, and tangled his hands in her hair. "This is going to be really incredible, isn't it?"

"I have a feeling it might be." She leaned her head back against the wall, looking up into his eyes. "Are you having doubts? You don't seem as into this as you were last night?"

He brought his lips down to brush against hers slowly. He freed his hands from her hair and held her face as he deepened the kiss, feeling her part her lips and search out his tongue with hers. He pulled away and looked down at her upturned face. Her eyes were still closed and her lips were wet and waiting for him to continue. "Last night was different. You were half dressed and licking salt off my hand and we were just having fun, not thinking. Tonight, you are Temperance Brennan, my partner. This is real, and I will be the first to admit, I am more than a little intimidated by it."

She opened her eyes and looked up at him teasingly. "If you are suggesting more tequila. I can't do it. I will be the Temperance Brennan that is in your bathroom vomiting the rest of the night." She wrapped her arms around his waist, and she could feel his laugh reverberate through his chest. "Last night was real, but you are right. This is different, better."

He ran his thumb over her lips, then kissed her again as he took a step back. His hands left her face and found her hands, tugging her towards him and moving her in the direction of his bedroom. Their mouths only parted for air briefly, and after a few minutes, she realized, through the foggy haze of wanting him, that they were standing in his bedroom. He left her standing near his bed, as he turned off the lights and lit candles. She looked around the room, appreciating the quiet masculine feel. The large king size bed of dark wood, with sueded bedding that invited her to reach out and touch it, took up a large portion of the room.

She removed her jacket and draped it over the back of a chair, and noticed that he was watching her. She wrapped her arms around her middle, and smiled at him shyly. He thought to himself how everything about her was so familiar, but their situation made him see her in a completely different light. Her self assured confidence was definitely taking a back seat to insecurity, and for some reason that was reassuring to him. It helped knowing that she appreciated the importance of what was happening.

He turned the music on softly, and was back at her side, kissing away the uncertainty and reveling in each new sensation and every way he could touch her that elicited a strong response. His hands roamed over the exposed skin of her neck and shoulders, letting his lips and tongue follow the path of his hands. He found a spot at the base of her throat, where her collarbones meet, that was particularly sensitive. He could feel her pulse quicken under his tongue as he paid special attention to that area.

Brennan found that she missed the feel of her hands on his bare skin, and needed to feel more. She started working on the buttons of his shirt, finally pushing it off his shoulders and letting it fall to the floor. She felt his warm skin under her fingers, and watched his broad shoulders rise and fall with every breath. His hands were on her ribs, stroking her through the thin fabric of her shirt, his hand stopping just as he brushed bottom of her breast. She suddenly realized, with a need so great it was almost painful, that she wanted to feel him against her, on top of her.

He backed her up toward his bed until her legs touched it, then gently pushed her back. He laid down beside her on his side, supporting his head on his hand. He slowly started unbuttoning the tiny silk covered buttons that separated her bare flesh from his. She pulled his head down and kissed him while his fingers were working at the buttons. Dragging his lips away from hers, he hovered over her tasting and teasing his way down the opening he was making.

She wiggled out of her unbuttoned shirt, and clutching his upper arms, tried to bring him down closer to her. He resisted, keeping a distance between them while he drank in the sight of her lying beneath her only half dressed and bathed in candlelight, her skin glowing beneath his hands. His only thought was his intense need to see the rest of her. He quickly, but deftly, continued his work, unbuttoning her jeans, and sliding them over her hips and down her long legs.

Finally, when she was free of clothes, and lying next to him in the barest scraps of lace, he took the opportunity to touch and memorize every part of her that he had only been able to fantasize about before. "You are beautiful." His hand returned to the soft skin of her breast that was not contained in the lace of her bra, brushing it lightly with his fingers. His mouth took the place of his fingertips as he laid his palm flat, cradling the expanse of it in his hand, gently rubbing his palm over the pebble hard center. He felt the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed heavily, pulling him closer, her nails digging into the muscles of his shoulders and back.

He paid the same attention to the other breast until she was writhing under him, pressing herself against the jean clad thigh that was tangled between her legs. He reached behind her, and unhooked her bra, returning his hand to her bare skin, and catching her nipple gently between his thumb and finger. He carefully twisted and pulled at the oversensitive skin, watching her face, and listening to her moaning, adding to the need he was already feeling. She sensed him watching her and opened her eyes to find him smiling sexily at her. "Tell me what you want." His voice was husky as he kept up the manipulation that was driving them both close to the edge.

She swallowed hard, and returned his grin, grinding out her words breathlessly. "Are you trying to drive me crazy?"

"Just tell me what you want, and I'll do it." He kissed her ear, tugging on her earlobe with his teeth.

She followed his lead, and pressed her lips to his ear, circling it with her tongue, and taking extra care to breathe her words deeply into it. "I want to feel your mouth on me." She lifted her hips and pressed herself against against his thigh again. "...for now. Then I want you to get a little more undressed."

He was only too happy to carry out her request, anxious to learn what kind of response he would get. Dipping his head down, he touched his tongue to the nipple of the breast he had cupped in his hand, softly at first, letting the soft, wetness of his tongue slide slowly over the hard peak. Her reaction was immediate, as if a jolt of electricity rocked through her. She arched her back toward him, crying out his name, as he repeated his torture on the other side, this time rolling the wet nipple that his mouth just left between his fingers, as he licked at the other.

He looked up at her face as he picked up the pace, sucking her flesh into his mouth and flicking at her nipples with his tongue. Her hands tangled in his hair, and scraped at his shoulders. He reached between them and placed one of his hands at the junction of her thighs, resting over the scrap of damp lace. She bit her lip, pushing herself into his hand further, her fingers scrambling for the button of his jeans frantically, needing to feel the rest of his skin against hers.

His erection ached for her with every thrust of her hips against his fingers, which he had slid under the lace of her panties. An unbearable friction was created against the bulge that was already blissfully painful contained inside his snug jeans. He slid his fingers over her, teasing lightly over her sensitive areas, and exploring all of her intimate folds.

Finally, she dug the heels of her hands into the bed and scooted herself back, breaking their contact, and smiling lazily up at him while she caught her breath. "We need to get less clothes on." She made a production of disposing of her last article of clothing, sliding it over her hips and down her legs, then holding it between her finger and thumb before dropping it on his floor. "Your turn..."

He stood up and started unbuttoning the fly of his jeans, and she stopped him, holding on to his hands, and pulling herself up so she was sitting on the edge of the bed. "Let me." She spread her legs and pulled him so he was standing between them in front of her. She leaned forward, pressing her cheek against his chest, feeling his racing heart beating against it. She drew a line of kisses down his stomach to where her hands were working at his zipper and trying to tug his jeans down.

Brennan released the breath she had been holding as he stepped out of his clothes and pulled her up so she was standing against him. He looked her in the eyes, needing reassurance that they wanted the same thing. "Are you sure?"

She pressed herself against him tightly, feeling his broad shoulders envelope her and all of his skin touching all of hers. "Are you kidding me?"

He threw back the comforter and held the sheets open for her to slip into, then followed, sliding on top of her. His eyes never left hers as he moved over her, finding their rhythm again and wanting to prolong this experience as long as possible. She wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him closer, so ready to cross that final barrier she could barely catch her breath.

He paused just a moment before sliding into her and making them complete, kissing her tenderly, and holding her face in his hands. "I think you were right. I had no idea what I was missing."

**A/N: You wouldn't think it would be hard to transition from grilled cheese to smut.... but it kind of was. :P So there you go... I'm done with it. I'm sorry for the delay, but I swear I worked on this every day for the past week. ****The phrase "watching cars mate" came to mind when I was writing parts of this chapter. LOL! Let me know what you think.**


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